Daenshore
The Governorate of Daenshore has existed for roughly 50 years now, being founded in 258 AC as an independent Republic prior to Regalia’s take-over and a Governorate under the Imperial crown afterwards. Daenshore is one of the few Ceardian inheritor states, having been created by Silveredge, and later adopted by Regalia after the collapse of Ceardia’s power spectrum. Daenshore as a state has a relatively short history, owing to it's roughly 50 years of existence. First it operated as a sister state to the Silveredge Kingdom, later it became independent and then annexed by the Regalian Empire. History Daenshore originally belonged to the Elven Empire, but was as much a backwater province as many during the rule of the Elves. The first true Human settlement brought it’s first illegal settlers around 53 BC. The Elven Empire was already in decline during the time, and Human escaped slaves set up smaller settlements around the coastline towards the Sun isles. These towns were under constant raid by Elven Rangers however, severely stunting their growth. The first large scale popularization of the area was brought along with the first great waves of migration from Ceardia around 150 to 200 AC. Ceardia, having become full of Humans and no longer capable of sustaining the rapid growth of the race, started sending large colony fleets in all directions. The majority of the settlers came from Silveredge that reached Daendroc, settling around the Elven Temple hill of Lunisaris, back then still an important pilgrimage location for Elven moon worshipers. The Humans quickly pushed out the collapsing military of the Elven Empire which had been all but eradicated by the Demons and Orcs, resulting in a relatively easy colonization. Daenshore itself was declared a Merchant Republic by 258 AC when it was granted its official state charter from Silveredge. With it’s first state charter, Henry Longwind was named Doge Henry I. The rule of Doge Henry the first saw rapid growth in the colonies, offering work for poor Ceardian families across the great sea. Doge Henry also started cultivating relations with the northern Lusits Kingdom, the Sun Isles, Arvost and the new political power: Regalia. The rapid growth of the colony came with its own problems however. Skyrocketing corruption and abuse of office had Henry I defeated in elections in 274, replaced by William Shedburg, made Doge Henry I. Doge Henry I led a rather disastrous rule of the colony, his administration mostly paralyzed by the corruption left behind by previous officials. The migration from Ceardia did not let up however, only further increasing the problems in the colony. In 274, Henry was re-elected as Doge of the state, though many claimed the election was completely rigged, proven by the fact that he won with a 99.8% landslide victory of the landed gentry. For a period, it appeared like Henry was solving the problems his first administration put in place, but the solutions were only cosmetic. Henry I was killed in office 2 years later when non Human rioters stormed the Union Cathedral during mass in 275. The event is commonly referred to as The Slaughter of the Sunday Mass. Nearly 200 Human colonists, including the entire landed gentry of the colony, were killed during the Sunday mass. After a short period of civil unrest, Silveredge appointed Callar Mctaver as Doge with military consent. His first act was to close Daenshore itself from migration, instead defining the smaller fishing villages as immigration areas, while simultaneously making migration to the countryside more attractive. His policies were mostly ineffective due to the hampering economy caused by non Human sabotage. He did however manage to eradicate the corruption of past administrations, or whatever was left of it after the gentry who was largely responsible for it, had been killed. Callar was re-elected 8 years later in 284, after which the migration was re-opened. Immediately, large surges of population increased Daenshore’s size exponentially from a month to month basis. Originally Daenshore had a more vibrant non Human population, amounting to almost 40% of the colony. During the extra colonization period, this was cut down to 20%. During this running period, caused by Human racism, as well as the outbreak of the Chrysant Wars, much of the non Human population was brutalized and often killed openly in the streets of the poorer areas and the countryside. Callar lost control quickly of the colony when he prevented Human nationalists from getting involved with the Regalian war on the Naga. His successor was Henry Longwind the second, the first governor’s son. His rule proved even more disastrous than his father’s, resulting in public lynchings and a severing of relations with Silveredge. At the time, Silveredge did not have the military capacity to invade Daenshore, and Regalia instead sent a small fleet from Hadar to Daenshore in 299. Regalia shelled the Doge’s palace to the ground, once the largest building in the area now reduced to a rubble and a graveyard. The Republic surrendered to Regalia, having no coastal defenses left to speak of. Doge Henry II was deposed by the military interregnum, and imprisoned in Regalia. The interregnum ruled over Daenshore for a full year, until Regalian politics assigned Andreu Lisandro from the influential Regalian-Daendroque Anahera family as governor. With Andreu came Regalian nobility, imposing a new court culture and new regime in the city. Andreu managed to reverse the course of the previous administrations with repression through oppression and military gestures. His scare tactics were successful as through threatening the locals with naval cannons leveling their neighborhoods caused them to become more passive. Through establishing order, Andreu slowly gained the respect of the locals and eventually, the import of Regalian riches further distracted the locals and increased the standard of living. Nowadays Daenshore produces the majority of the wood for Regalia, as well as being a large export market for Arvost and the Lusits Kingdom. The colony is slowly becoming stagnant however, due to the large population majority being male, and the lack of new colonists. New colonist instead prefer the untouched lands of New Ceardia. Governance Daenshore is run through the Regalian military governance. This means Regalia appoints a military governor for life, and occupies the lands through military means, and then imposes its rule trough the governor. Prior to the military governor, Daenshore was ran by the rule of a Merchant Republic elected from nobility within Daenshore itself. List of Daenshore Rulers: * Doge Henry I 258 - 266 (First appointed Doge by Silveredge) * Doge William I 266 - 274 * Doge Henry I 274 - 276 (Re-elected, murdered in office) * Doge Callar I 276 - 284 * Doge Callar I 284 - 292 * Doge Henry II 292 - 299 (Deposed, Regalian invasion) * Interregnum 299 - 300 (Military governorship by local Admiral) * Governor Andreu Lisandro Anahera I (First appointed Governor of Daenshore by the Regalian Empire) Geography Daenshore’s landscape has been the product of decades of industry, woodcutting and land drainage. The earliest arrival of Humans in the area saw dense forest and deep swamps, later diminished by large forest fires as well as land drainage from windmills. Present day, Daenshore is dominated by it’s largest city Daenshore. A vast urban center, the city is the seat of Daenshore Governorate. The countryside of Daenshore features mostly empty plains, large open space of tree stumps as large parts of the forest have been cleared to fuel Regalia’s naval industry. Several smaller coastal villages dot the landscape, but nearly all migration in the Governorate is focused around Daenshore itself. Economy Daenshore imports mostly fine wares from Arvost, such as gold and gems as well as its textiles. Arvost is the largest trading partner besides the regular tributes to Regalia. Besides these basic imports, Daenshore also exports grain and fish to the Lusits Kingdom, the Sun Isles and the Etosian Isles. By far, the greatest export product is timber, exported to the Regalian archipelago for ship construction. Daenshore also has a smaller local ship construction shipyard. Daenshore uses Regalia's official coin, the Regal, and mostly runs a self sufficient local economy. Industry is not high in Daenshore, and the majority of the products created are found in the agrarian, woodworking and fishing sectors. Demography Daenshore’s population consists of: * 80% ethnic Ceardian Humans * 7% Daendroquin Humans category:Ailor Demographics * 5% Yanar category:Yanar Demographics * 3% Talar Elves category:Talar Demographics * 3% Tigran category:Tigran Demographics * 3% Other The total population of Daenshore is roughly 700,000. Unlike other parts of the Regalian Empire however, the relation male to female is somewhat skewed, resulting in 65% of the population being male and only 35% being female. This is often claimed to have been caused by the work migration of Daenshore. Men are often seen as suitable lumberjacks, while there is little traditional work for women in Daenshore. The few women that do need to provide for themselves often do so through the rampant prostitution in Daenshore. Daenshore has a positive population growth, largely due to booming migrants and children born from the female industries. Culture Daenshore’s culture is mostly derived from Ceardian culture, as the majority of the population stems from Ceardian migration, however a distinct Daendroquin culture influenced the locals to adapt and adopt to some Daendroquin cultural traditions and customs. Religion in Daenshore is predominantly Unionist, however several minor religions have been allowed as well, coupled with a few local sects. Daenshore is known across the Empire for being religiously tolerant towards minor religions, much to the ire of Union priests. Daenshore culture is often viewed as somewhat bastardized by Regalians. Ceardian is already a fairly “lowborn” culture to Regalians, however the locals in Daenshore adopted much of the Daendroquin slave traditions as well as local celebration days. Marriages in Daenshore are done in full Daendroquin for example, as well as the practice to have indentured servants. Daenshore however does not exercise Daendroquin inheritance law. It’s state law book are mostly defined by Regalia, with several local exceptions. A strong caste system is also in place in Daenshore, having the nobles and clergy rule the top layers, and free slaves or slave families at the bottom. Daenshore is one of the only Regalian sub states that allow the active slavery of Humans as opposed to banning it. In most cases, Regalia chooses not to intervene in this practice, as Regalia has recently become dependent on Daenshore wood and ship production. Daenshore is one of Regalia’s worst criminalized sub states. Crime rate is high in the non Human district of Daenshore, and illegal prostitution among the Yanar and Tigran population is alarmingly high. Discrimination against non Humans is also tremendous, almost as far as causing 85% of the female Yanar population of Daenshore to serve as prostitutes. National Symbols Daenshore's flag is a solid dark green flag with a black stripe trough it. This used to originally be the flag of the Kingdom of Silveredge, but Daenshore adopted the same flag due to the fact the two states functioned as sister states. Currently it is still held as an homage to the lost kingdom of Silveredge. Daenshore's national militia is called the "Junistas". The Junistas are groups of Human rangers originally trained in Elven archery and woodland roaming, however using their talents to protect the wood cutters, as opposed to protecting the woods. The Junistas mainly roam the border lands, holding off Orc and Elven invasions, thus keeping the Governorate relatively safe. Landmarks * The city of Daenshore * The Elven Temple hill of Lunisaris. * The fishing villages of Pombal, Cordin and Astura. * Daenshore Union Cathedral. * Daenshore naval Academy. * Daenshore’s largest wood processing workplace. Trivia * Daenshore had a short lived cult that worshiped the undead. Despite it’s religious tolerance, the city officials quickly branded the cultists as heretics and had them executed. * Daenshore is the only Regalian sub state where a Human can legally conceive children from a Yanar. * Daenshore is slowly becoming synonymous to the Anahera Governorate. The family tightly controls many layers of it’s society, and use it in turn to gather more political power in Regalia. * Wood from Daenshore is often seen as the highest quality wood available in Aloria for ship building. * Daenshore is home to the famous Dwarven author Bey Savs, known from books like “The Tale of Tenebris” and “The Kade Circus”. category:geography Category:Nations and States Category:Extended Daendroc Landmass